Always There
by Hallie -Dove
Summary: Yamato a.k.a. Matt is in search of himself. However, he isn't going to be journeying alone he's joined by none other than Gabumon and... a mysterious girl. Finished
1. Alone

Ten year old Matt Ishida trudged on through the never ending woods in search of himself. Being in the Digital World had its advantages. He could be alone by when he wanted.

"I don't need those Digidestines," said Matt aloud, "I'll be fine on my own."

"Wait for me Matt," yelled a voice in the distance. Soon a furry creature appeared behind him. It had white fur and yellow skin, blue steaks on his fur and red eyes (OC: I'm not sure about this). Doggish looking, he had a peculiar mark on his chest and a horn sticking out of his forehead. He was a digimon.

"Why aren't you with the others?" asked Gabumon, Matt's digimon.

"Because Gabumon, I need to find myself. And the only way to do that is to be alone," said Matt forcefully, pushing his way through a bush. "There's just some things-"

However, he stopped short. Looking down his eyes rested on something unexpected. A girl.

She looked about nine or ten years old, her face down in the ground and her medium golden blonde hair covering her head. Matt bent down and rolled her over. She was unconscious.

"Gabumon, get some water and fast," he said, picking the girl up and carrying her over to a shaded spot.

First he leaned toward her, making sure she was breathing. She was, but very faintly. Next he grabbed the water Gabumon came back with, which he'd placed inside of a bowl he'd found mysteriously by the river, and picked a leaf, wetted it, and placed it on her head. Matt looked over her to make sure nothing else was wrong. The girl did have a black eye but that was it.

'If only Joe were here,' thought Matt, then shuddered. No, Matt didn't need Joe. He was fine by himself.

"So, what are we going to do?" asked Gabumon.

"Take care of her I suppose. Until she's better."

Sighing, Matt started preparing the camp for that night.

The moon seeped between the tree branches as Matt trudged through the forest in search of wood for the fire. Crisp, cold air bit at his skin, leaving invisible holes. Matt rubbed his gloves up and down his arms in attempt to warm them.

Depression still had a hold of this sandy-blonde headed boy, but its grip was starting to loosen slightly. Matt's eyes even began to lose their charm. The once intelligent and lively eyes were now dull and lifeless.

Finally, out of the blue, Matt found a pile of freshly cut wood. He quickly picked some up and hurried back to camp. After having Gabumon start the fire, he leaned back and started thinking.

"Hey Gabumon," Matt said suddenly, "what happened when I was gone?"

"Oh , nothing really," Gabumon replied in an offhand voice. "I did manage to catch some fish."

"That's good," said Matt. He then leaned over and changed the girl's leaf, replacing. Yet, as he was taking the old leaf off something peculiar happened.

On the girl's chest flashed an unusual marking of white. Her blonde hair flung out along with her necklace flailing out from under her shirt. One the necklace was an angel. Matt reached out his hand to touch it and instantly it fell back down on her chest and hair fell gently back to her shoulders and became very still. The image also disappeared.

Something else happened too. As if magic the girl's eyelids opened to reveal emerald green eyes that were very vivid.

"Were am I?" she asked in a tired tone.

"Just rest now, you'll be ok," said Matt calmly.

Next thing you knew her eyes were closed and she fell asleep. He then leaned against a tree beside hers' and pulled out his harmonica. Instead of playing a certain song, he just kept playing whatever note he could think of. In his head he started putting words to the song:

You turn away,

From the light,

Thinking you'll be okay.

But then again,

You could be wrong,

And there could be nothing to gain.

It was a very somber song, full of meaning to him. Soon, he realized as he shut his eyes to sleep that, for once, he'd actually felt ok. And he realized something else.

He was no longer alone.


	2. Angel

Matt woke up the next morning and gazed around. Gabumon was awake and starting another fire since the other went out last night, yet the girl was not at her tree anymore . He stood up quickly and ran over to Gabumon.

"Morning Matt," said Gabumon cheerfully. Matt rubbed his eyes and nodded back.

"Where is she?" asked Matt.

"Now, before you get mad at me I had nothing to do with it," Gabumon began. However, he was interrupted.

"I'm back with some fish Gabumon," said the mysterious girl happily. She placed the fish on the ground then starred from Matt to Gabumon. "Is something wrong?"

"No," said Matt forcefully. "So you caught some fish? You didn't have to."

"I know, but I wanted to repay you for your generosity," said the girl sweetly. "If you'll excuse me for a moment, I an cook the fish and we can have breakfast."

Matt opened his mouth to say something, then closed it. Instead he sat back at his tree and waited. The girl worked quickly, talking to Gabumon every now and then. Almost as if it was a reflex, Matt got out his harmonica and began to play "Lean on Me." The girl smiled, remembering the tune well. She even began to sing the chorus:

Lean on me,

When you're not strong.

I'll be your friend

To help and to carry on.

She sang amazingly, not missing a single note. Matt stopped playing and starred at her in wonder.

"What's wrong?" she asked, looking concerned.

"Nothing," replied Matt, putting his harmonica back in his pocket. She didn't believe him. "I'm starved."

"It's almost done," said the girl. "Now, let's get to know each other. I'm Ayreana, but my friends call me Angel."

"Matt Ishida," answered Matt.

"Noticed your crest." Clearly this Angel girl liked to talk because she kept the conversation going even though Matt had just tried to end it.

"I don't think it's really mine," answered Matt quietly.

"Can you digivolve with it?" implored Angel.

"Yes, but-"

"Then it's yours."

"The fish is done Angel," said Gabumon, placing the cooked fish in front of them.

They ate in silence, then went for a walk afterwards.

"Matt, you're going to have to tell me eventually."

Matt sighed. He was trying to hide it as long as he could, but there was something about Angel that he liked.

"Ok. You see-"

And then he explained everything he'd been through in the Digiworld and what he was feeling. She listened tentatively and once the whole story was done, she stopped walking and faced Matt. Angel was at a loss of words. So she leaned over and did the only thing she could think of. She smacked him on the cheek.

"Thanks, I needed that."

"I can't believe you left them. Come on Matt."

"Where are we going?"

"It's my turn to tell my story," she said, grabbing one of his and Gabumon's hands.

Angel lead them through some thick woods and stopped along a stream. From there she changed directions and cam to a large hill before changing directions again. Finally, about four to five turns later, they were at their destination.

"Here we are," said Angel, grinning.

"This place is amazing," said Matt looking around.

In front of him was a water fall, and the place was filled with gorgeous flowers. Gabumon and Angel had to drag him by the hand toward the water. Gabumon jumped in and swam around. Angel, on the other hand, took of her shoes and stuck her feet in. Matt just continued to take in the view, his hands in his pockets.

"When I was seven," started Angel, "I received my digimon. First I kept her in my room, feeding her table scraps. One day she got sick and I ended up coming here, hoping she'd become better. She did and we traveled around the digiworld for a while, then returned back. The weirdest thing of all is we weren't gone for more than a second, same with you guys."

Her feet then started moving around in the water, as if the movement was helping her concentrate.

"Then things went wrong. We returned again and came upon an evil force. I can't remember the details of my time in the 'darkness', but it was terrible."

Matt then tried to give her a comforting hug, but she pulled away.

"Don't feel bad for me," she said. "That's the last thing I need."

He nodded and relaxed, starring at her once friendly eyes that had now become cold and dark.


	3. The Journal

The next day Angel was back to full stamina and they could travel further through the woods. When they got a dark area Angel leaned toward Matt and grabbed his hand, clutching it.

Reminds me of T.K., thought Matt to himself. Gabumon even started to get an uneasiness feeling and started walking close behind them.

"Maybe we should go back," said Angel. "I'm serious Matt, I'm feeling something from here and trust me, it's not good."

"Sometimes we have to face things," said Matt. In truth, he was scared too. Just then a digimon appeared out of the shadows.

"It's a Devidarinamon," said Gabumon. "Or at least, I think it is."

The digimon was about to 7 foot, definitely at champion level, looking rather close to a black lab with wings standing on it's hind paws. It had a graceful charm to it, though its eyes were red and cold.

"Leave them alone Darina," said Angel, blocking them from her.

"You know this digimon?" asked Matt.

"Yeah, it's mine," said Angel. "I told you we should have turned around."

"It's too late for that now! THUNDER CLAW!!!" shouted Devidarinamon.

"Digivolve Gabumon!" yelled Matt as he grabbed Angel's arm and pulled her out of harm's way.

And digivolve he did. A second later Weregarurumon stood where Gabumon once was. Immediately, he started to attack while Matt and Angel ran away from the battle scene.

"Anything else you'd like to tell me?" asked Matt. However, Angel was too lost in thought to say anything. "Hullo?" He waved his hand in front of her face.

"I'm thinking...."

"Of what?"

Yet, he face lit up and she grabbed Matt's hand again. She led him the rest of the way back to the camp, then went over to the tree he'd leaned on the night before. Carefully, she moved one of the tree knots and reached into a hole. She pulled something out before placing the knot back in its place.

"Matt," hollered Gabumon. "We need to go; she's coming!"

"Follow me," said Angel.

The trio took off and Angel twisted and turned so much as she led them that Matt was starting to get worried that she didn't know the where she was going. But they finally came to an area with a bunch of trees and bushes. The perfect hiding place. After they settled down, Angel opened the book she had taken from the hole and showed it to them.

"I've been keeping it since I was nine," said Angel as Matt flipped through it. He glossed over some entries.

"So how's this going to help?" asked Matt. Gabumon had left to stand guard.

"This last entry," she said, taking her journal back and flipping to it, "is what's going to help."

"IThe darkness has consumed Darina, and I'm all alone now. My hands are almost frozen as I write this entry. Somehow, I've got to defeat the darkness before it takes control of the digiworld. Its thirsty, it keeps whispering in my ear, for dark emotions. The breath of it is like a thousand knives, aching, searing./I"

"Make it stop!" yelled Angel.

"What?" asked Matt, flabbergasted as Angel fell to the ground, clutching her head.

He helped her up then shook her slightly. She blinked and realized where she was.

"I'm sorry," she said, shaking her head. "It's just..."

"You felt the darkness coming on again," said Matt. "I felt it too."

"Oh Matt!"

She grasped Matt and cried on his shoulder. It took him a second before he hugged her, muttering, "It'll be ok. I've got you."

They stood there for a while like that. Even when Gabumon came running to tell them, once again, that Devidarinamon was coming, the two couldn't help but hug each other. They were scared.


	4. Stange Answers

The two finally broke apart and got a grip. There were more important to worry about than romance right now. No sooner had Darinamon appeared than Matt heard Puppetmon's voice ringing through his ear's. Also, cries of help from his friends.

"Matt," said Angel franticly, "we've got to do something for them."

"But Darina's in the way," he replied as Gabumon joined them.

Then suddenly, it appeared that a light bulb had just lit up in her head. "Leave it to me," she said confidently. "You go help your friends. I'll take care of Darina."

Matt hesitated a second. "Gabumon," he said forcefully, "go with Angel."

"No Matt," said Angel, shaking her head. "You're going to need him more than me. Besides, I need to confront her by myself."

He about took off, but turned around one last time.

"Are you sure?" he asked, a bit frightened at the thought of her being alone with the evil digimon.

"Positive."

And with that, Angel took off, running into the thick woods. 'If my plan works,' she thought, 'I might be able to help Matt.'

Finally Angel stopped, and so did Darina. She faced the digimon head on and felt the darkness edging at her.

"Darina," she said soothingly. "It's me, Angel, your partner."

"I have no partner," she shot back. "All I have is darkness."

"That's not true. You know it's not."

"All I know is darkness," stated Darina. "SHADOW WING!"

Angel, without time to react, got the attack full in the face. For a second, everything felt cold to her. Yet, Angel got back up off her knees and acted unaffected.

"Why do you try to resist?"

"Because, I Know there is good in this world. I know there's good in you. Come back to the light Darina!"

As it had happened the other night, Angel's weird sign appeared once again on her chest, glowing. Angel glanced down at her chest, then over at Darina. First the digimon's fur turned grey, and her eyes lighter. Then she returned to her rookie level, danarimon. Now she looked like a wolf with floppy ears, symbols on her fur, and rings on her front legs.

"Darina!" she said, hugging her digimon. The symbol had vanished from her chest.

"It's good to see you too," said Darina, who was being squished by Angel.

"Come on, we need to go help Matt! I'll explain on the way."

Darina nodded and the two tore off.

After they defeated Puppetmon, Matt and Gabumon left to start looking for Angel and hopefully the normal Darina. Matt was deep in thought, his thinking once again on something that had been bothering him from the start of his depression.

"Matt!" It was Angel. She ran up and hugged him. He smiled for a moment, then quickly went back to his normal expression. "I would like you to meet Darina! Darina, this is Matt."

The two shook hands (or paws), and then Gabumon and her shook paws too. After that, the four stood in silence for a moment or two. Finally, Gabumon broke the silence.

"We vanquished Puppetmon," he said humbly.

"And did you talk to the others?" asked Angel questioningly.

Matt shook his head. "No, not really."

Angel nodded. Then sighed.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye."

"Huh?" Matt didn't understand. She was leaving?

"We have to get back to my home. I'm not needed here anymore," she said.

"Yes, you are," said Matt. "I need you."

Angel blushed, then once again, out of the blue, hugged him. Except this time she pecked him on the cheek, causing him to blush. After a few minutes they finally pulled away.

"I'll never you Matt," said Angel. "I'll always be there."

And with that, Angel hugged Gabumon (who hates goodbyes.) Before she pulled away, she whispered in his ear, "I think the darkness hasn't left him yet. Watch over him for me."

Gabumon nodded and smiled. Angel winked and got out her digivice. Looking back one more time, she starred at the two, figuring she'd never see them again. Then she clicked a button and vanished.

Matt sighed and trudged on. Angel was right. His problem was not solved yet.

"Where are we?" asked Angel as they landed in a rather peculiar garden.

"I think," said Darina, "we're still in the digital world."

"You're right," said a weary voice, coming from the house. Out walked an old man dressed like one of the Jedi's off star wars. "My name is Jedi, and this is my home. I brought you here to give you something."

And with that, he pulled out a tag and crest. The crest had the same odd symbol that had appeared on her chest earlier.

"Does this-"

"Make you a digidestined? Yes, I suppose it would. This crest happens to be that of guidance."

Angel nodded and put the crest on.

"It's too late for you to join them now, but you shall one day. You and the other two."

The last thing Angel remembered from their meeting was watching him open the portal, which she walked through. It led her to a bridge which was very familiar. She was back in the real world.


	5. We Meet Again

It was a hot Thursday afternoon, and anyone with a right mind wouldn't be out in it. However, Angel had a job to do and she was determined to do it.

Angel has grown up quite a bit. Now she's 27 and has medium length blonde hair, layered, and a little more stylish clothes than in her youth. She continued traveling to the digital till about a year ago when she landed her job with the New York Times. However, she did find means of chatting with Darina over the computer.

These days, Darina's been staying at and around Jedi's' house, running errands for him. When young digidestines get lost, she's always happy to straighten them out.

The sad thing is that every country except the U.S. agreed to let all children visit the digital world. Only the chosen ones (ones whose digimon came to them) were permitted to travel there. Angel herself was illegally dealing with digimon because she wasn't registered. Luckily, they don't keep close track of that.

Knowing a bunch about this is what landed her the job in the first place. Though the newspaper couldn't publish the article due to the fact they weren't allowed to speak of digimon out in the open, it was well written and earned her a spot as a journalist.

Today, a space shuttle (named Gabu) was to return from a trip to the moon at NASA. Her job was to interview the crew about the journey and find out if the flag was really there.

Once more, she looked down at her notes. She'd managed to the whole crew's names except one. A male about 28-29 years old and from Tokyo. He was currently living in Orlando, Florida right now. Under the paper with that info was a assortment of papers just like it on other crew members.

Gabu landed rather nosily, causing dirt to fly and the ground to shake slightly. The sun continued to beat down and Angel couldn't help but rub some excess sweat off her forehead. Good thing she'd decided not to wear that coat. Quickly, she dashed toward the launch pad where the crew members were exiting the shuttle. Many reporters crowded around her.

"Sir-"

"May we have just a minute of your time-"

"What was it like-"

"Ladies and Gentlemen, these astronauts are tired having just landed. There will be a time for questions later," announced a spokesperson, ushering the crew into a van. "Now, who's the woman representing the New York Times?"

"That would be me," said Angel, walking forward and shaking the man's outstretched hand. "Angel Peterson."

"Pleasure to met ya mam' ," he said. "I'm Andrew Steward, spokesperson here at NASA. There's no more room in the van, so you'll have to ride in the jeep. I hope that won't be a problem?"

"No," said Angel before making her way over to the jeep. Another reporter sat in the seat beside hers. He owned the lightest blonde hair she'd ever seen and bright blue eyes. He had on a pair of tan pants, blue business shirt and tie.

"Hello," he said, greeting her. "My name's Willis. You are?"

"Angel Peterson," replied Angel as the jeep started to move.

"I knew I'd seen you before," said Willis. Then he leaned over and whispered, "You have a digimon named Darinamon, right?"

Angel nodded and smiled. She remembered him too. The two had defeated an area covered in darkness once when she was 14.

"How's Terriermon(?) and Cocoamon?" she asked.

"Don't know," said Willis. "I haven't been to the Digital world in 5 years."

She nodded again and looked out the window. In her mind she could see Darinamon, running through the forest, happy as could be.

"So, you're a reporter now?" asked Willis. Angel, having spaced out, took a minute to respond.

"Yeah, New York Times. I have a summer home down here though. Willis, what newspaper do you write for?"

"The Chicago Times," said Willis, laughing. "Did they only grant the important newspapers private access?"

"Apparently," said Angel, glancing over her notes. "Maybe you can help me. Do you know this crew member's name?"

"Yeah. His first, anyway. It's Yamato. But I don't know his last…..I met his brother once before, his name is T.K. He had a digimon as well…..Patamon, I believe……."

Angel could tell Willis was trying hard to remember Yamato's last name. He always tried hard at everything he did. She leaned back and relaxed. They were almost there and the center was coming into view. Willis finally gave up and apologized for not being much help.

"That's ok, I'll just have to ask him myself."

The two laughed and the jeep came to a jerky stop.

"Sorry about that," the driver apologized.

"That's ok, my car does the same thing," said Angel, getting out.

"Does it really?" asked Willis once the jeep took off.

"No, but it sounded like the right thing to say," answered Angel briskly back.

They entered the building and were greeted by a woman with brilliant brown hair and vivid green eyes. Willis couldn't help but slightly drool, causing Angel to laugh quietly.

"Hi, I'm Amelia Smithies, 2nd spokesperson for NASA. Before I take to the interview room, I must explain the rules. No personal or offensive questions are to be asked unless you're just talking. You may not ask any questions that are about a separate project here at NASA. Also, we have a group picture for the two of you, so you won't have to take any pictures."

"We already know all this," said Angel. "It was in the letter?"

"Oh, right. Well, I guess that was a waste of time," said Amelia, her cheeks turning red from embarrassment. "Follow me and I'll take you to the Media Room."

And with that, Amelia led the them to the room in which the crew now sat, dressed in regular clothes.

"Gabu crew," said Amelia, "this is Willis of the Chicago Times"-Willis nodded in recognition- "and this is Angel of the New York Times."

"Hi," said Angel, glancing around. Then she stopped at the sight of a boy, or should I say man, that she thought she would never see again. Sure enough, she wasn't dreaming. It was Matt from the Digital World.

"Thank you Amelia, you can leave now," said a man Angel recognized as the captain, James E. Lee.

Immediately, Willis walked over to the captain and started talking. Angel took a few minutes, but finally managed to walk over to a woman named Ana Gene, and began to interview her. Matt just sat and starred at Angel in disbelief.

After she interviewed just about everyone, Matt walked over to her.

"Aren't you going to interview me?" asked Matt. "It's the least you could do since I saved your life once."

"That's true," answered Angel. "But, I have to get going. I'm due back for a meeting."

"How about tonight? Let me take you out to dinner."

Angel hesitated, but agreed. Before leaving, she turned back and asked one last question:

"What's your full name Matt?"

"Yamato Ishida," replied Matt. She once knew him as a young boy full of darkness. Now he was full of light and life.


End file.
